The Goldie Initiative Pilots New Donor Stewardship Platform with Women of CA Ventures Affinity Group

In an effort to provide resources on topics concerning women in commercial real estate to important corporate supporters of The Goldie Initiative’s mission, a new donor stewardship platform was piloted in September 2019 entitled “Goldie Initiative Custom Events.” Coordinated by Goldie Gala 2019 Vice Chair Katie Kazas, EVP of Capital Markets at CA Ventures, the Women of CA Affinity Group hosted a Happy Hour and Panel discussion on September 26, 2019 at the company’s corporate headquarters. Katie moderated the panel, which was entitled “Successful Career Paths in Commercial Real Estate” and featured the following industry leaders representing various lines of business (above, left to right):

  • Katie Kazas, EVP of Capital Markets at CA Ventures
  • Cheri Grossman, Chief Investment Officer at JRG Capital Partners
  • Valerie Fertitta, Managing Director at Greystar
  • Kirsten Hull, VP Development at EQ Office
  • Michelle Herrick, Managing Director, Real Estate Banking at JP Morgan
The content of the panel focused on the many different focus areas available to professionals in the commercial real estate industry and panelists represented different stages of their career paths. Panelists were asked to describe their current job responsibilities and explain how they achieved leadership positions in their companies. At the end, each panelist commented on where they might be found at 10AM on a Saturday morning — the answers varied as much as their career paths did! Participants were very positive about the content of the panel; one survey repondent indicated “I found it to be very empowering and I really enjoyed hearing the advice from the women on the panel.”

Women of CA Affinity Group

Designed to foster networking among the women at all levels of the company, the Women of CA Affinity Group hosted the happy hour during the late afternoon to accommodate employees juggling many responsbilities. Indeed one participant indicated on a feedback survey that “I thought the event was thoughtfully scheduled with time to network before and after the panel.”

The Women of CA Affinity Group found both the panel content and the networking to be valuable.

The Goldie Initiative is grateful to the Women of CA Affinity Group for hosting this important pilot of “Goldie Initiative Custom Events” and for their sponsorship of our important work. For more information on how to get involved as a sponsor and host a similar event, please Contact Us.